Zamochit
by timydamonkey
Summary: AU In a world of chaos and destruction, mediators, shifters and ghosts lurk unknown among the normal residents. But, as Suze finds out, not everyone is who or what they seem… and scales can be tipped in any direction. TEMPORARY HIATUS.
1. Prologue

**ZAMOCHIT:**

**A/N:** **Well, this is a LONG fic. Currently there are fourteen chapters planned which cover little of the actual plot, meaning this'll be really long but really eventful. :D And it's AU, so the discrepencies are intentional.**

**The prologue is intentionally very short as it's a prologue and just written to give you an idea of the characters.**

**The story is written in both Paul and Suze POV for different chapters, but not necessarily consecutive ones... there aretimes with Suze POV twice in a row and times with Paul POV twice in a row.**

**The main characters are all (save one) introduced in this prologue, actually: Suze, Paul and (shockingly enough) Jack, who is a late but valuable addition to the fanfic. :P Oh yeah, that reminds me, this chapter is in _PAUL POV_. Enjoy.**

**PROLOGUE: **

Moving from Seattle to Carmel isn't really as different as you'd think it would be. You move from one place of terror to another. From one place filled sky-high with ghosts and very few mediators and no other shifters to another.

My parents aren't around here but that's not too much of a difference. It's not that they were ever around; they just went off golfing and playing tennis, quite happy being blissfully unaware of what was going on around them. They never concerned themselves with what I was doing, mostly because I was dragged off with them, but often ending up leaving on more pressing matters that eventually grew to us becoming very detached with each other – it was never exactly the ideal family relationship.

My brother Jack's here, but he's rather an embarrassment. The kid's scared of everything that moves and really terrified of being outside, and hey, this is the real world. Being terrified of going outside is ridiculous and unnecessary, however much Jack seems to think otherwise.

Hence why, on my first day at the Junipero Serra Mission Academy, I was dragging a little boy who just so-happened to be my younger brother with me, scowling fiercely as I entered the school building. It wouldn't have been so bad if the kid hadn't looked so terrified… it seemed like I was kidnapping him or something, as he kept trying to get out of my grip and looking around to see whether or not someone was going to jump out at him.

Honestly, I was disgusted with his behaviour. Way to make a good first impression, Jack! The only reason it didn't matter so much to me was that I wasn't there to make friends. Now I was in a place where I could finally set some ideas in motion… these ideas did not include friendship.

As soon as we got inside, I dropped my hand and scowled at Jack, who glared at me. The kid can be big in his boots sometimes, but his fear of everything seems to get in the way of it. We walked through the corridor in silence, knowing we were late thanks to Jack's inability to be – or at least act – normal, and trying to find Father Dominic's office. It wasn't hard; we'd been told the instructions, but we were late anyway so we felt like a little slow walking wouldn't hurt.

Walking to the door, I folded my arms and Jack was about to knock, when…

"Father Dominic is busy, presently," said the woman assigned to the reception desk, glancing over wide glasses lenses at me. I rolled my eyes.

"We," I said to her icily, "have an appointment with the Good Father." I gritted my teeth and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack giving me a strange look at my tone of voice – I glared at him and he soon looked at the floor, glowering.

"Yes, but," she began, making me roll my eyes and zone out. Jack could retell me any important information, I was sure.

Honestly, talk about the school not being welcoming. When I saw that, I was pretty sure the rest of the day was going to completely suck – but then, that's how schooldays usually are, aren't they? There's never anything interesting going on.

Suddenly, the door banged open, and out walked a rather intriguing looking girl.

_Whoa._

Okay, I thought as I looked at her, maybe I was wrong about this place. Maybe this place does have advantages over Seattle after all… and I intend to take full usage of the benefits.

**A/N: Please read and review. :D**


	2. Chapter 1

**Zamochit:**

**A/N: Another extremely short chapter – I swear, they'll gradually get longer, but for now it's mostly first impressions, which don't take a lot of space to write.**

**Paul looks different, yes – this is an AU, the Paul here is somewhat more of a rebel and did what he wanted action-wise, including altering his hair etc. He looks a lot tougher.**

**Now would also be a good time to say that there are some flashes both forwards in the story and backwards in the story, for both background and to give you an idea of where it's going. It shouldn't be unreasonably hard to figure out which is which, but if you're confused, ask. Generally, flashback/forward scenes are put in italics, as are bits in third person.**

_**SUZE POV.**_

Chapter One:

Seeing Father Dom every day is a right old bore, I'm telling you. I swear, the fact I have mates is just plain weird. Don't they get the slightest bit suspicious of the amount of time I spend cooped up in Father D's office. I mean, it's not like I can tell them why I'm there, can I? "Oh, by the way, I see the good Father so often because we both share the talent of seeing and mediating ghosts."

Is there even a quicker way to get cooped up in an insane asylum?

So yeah, Father D's going on about how to handle ghosts, that you must keep your temper and other things I've heard time and time before, so naturally, when it's time to leave, I was understandably happy and just about ready to skip out the door.

Waiting outside were two guys – one looked quite young and was scowling at the floor, and the other – oh, God!

He was checking me out! His eyes were scanning me like a cash register or something, and he looked almost hungry. But still, with his mop of dark hair and tanned skin, he looked absolutely stunning! I had to keep my jaw under control so it didn't drop. I flicked my hair over my shoulders as a reflex action, grinned charmingly and walked on to class – legs shaking like jelly the whole time.

I don't think either of them noticed.

By the time I got home, I felt like I was steaming with excitement – an odd but true analogy. The guy I'd saw – the little guy, presumably his brother, had been completely wiped out of my mind – was more like some kind of elaborate dream. If I'd thought about him any more, I'd have seen him as some kind of star or something, I'm sure.

Anyway, that mood suddenly disappeared as I floated on cloud nine into my bedroom.

"Hello, _querida,_" said an alarmingly warm voice, and my insides seemed to turn to ice. I closed my eyes, silently thanking God for not giving ghosts the ability to mind-read.

"Hi, Jesse!" I yelled in a completely ridiculously overdone and enthusiastic voice, but thankfully, he didn't seem to notice. My heart was hammering in my chest and I could hear my heartbeat echoing hollowly in my ears.

"How was your day, Susannah?" he asked in a charming voice that, for some reason, made me squirm uncomfortably and look at the floor like some naughty four year old.

"Oh, it was… fine, fine, you know. Like every other day, it was really awesome."

It was then that I had it all confirmed: not only was I apparently a terrible liar, I was _such _a loser. Jesse, while not the most observant person, was a smart guy, and it seemed to have dawned on him that something was terribly amiss.

"Susannah," he asked in a low growl that made me look up, startled at the sound. Still, his tone still held an air of comfort, and this was were I usually felt my heart melt like butter. Now, though, it gave just a sad sort of tingle, that, rather than comforting me, felt more like heart-break then anything, and nearly made me start crying on the spot. I didn't, though, as it would make little sense to anyone else (ie. Jesse) why I was crying, "are you sure you're alright?"

"Me?" I asked, my voice taking on a stupidly high pitch that made me inwardly cringe. "Oh, no, I'm fine. Couldn't be better. Heh."

Just then – something I'm sure that must have been some kind of sign from SOMEONE with a higher power – the phone rang, and I had never been more grateful in all of my life.

I loved Jesse, of course, and I felt terrible for crushing on the strange new guy when I already had such a wonderful guy, but the conversation was just too awkward, and I didn't want to explain to him about my new-found infatuation with the new guy, so took the easy way and just grabbed the phone and listened for a second.

"Oh, hi, CeeCee!"

I grinned when I heard her voice, pausing as I heard her saying over the connection, "hey Suze, fancy working with me and Adam on that project for World Civ?"

For a moment, I wondered what she was talking about, then realized I'd missed most of World Civ anyway, talking to Father D and drooling at the new guy. I knew I'd have to get it done, and going to CeeCee would be the best thing – plus, an interesting ploy to get away.

"Sure," I agreed rapidly, "I'll be right there!"

I almost flung the phone back down on the hook in my eagerness to get out of the room, and left no room for reply on CeeCee's end, either. Luckily, she didn't ring back.

I turned and gave an apologetic smile to a somewhat stunned looking Jesse. "Sorry," I said sincerely, and he nodded in understanding, though I'm sure he thought I was apologizing for something quite different to what I intended. Still, it seemed I just owed him a lot of apologies.

I grabbed my schoolbag (not yet unpacked), grinned cheerily at Jesse and flounced over to the door. Just before I shut it, however, I heard his voice saying, "Susannah?"

I turned around at the door, looking at him intensely. "Yes?"

"_Te amo,"_ he whispered, and I turned to face away from the door, wiping a tear from my cheek. Life just wasn't _fair! _Why did they give me Jesse AND that other guy to lust over?

As I thought, Jesse appeared to be going, but just before he didn't I turned around with eyes that looked dry, smiled with all the strength I could muster, and said, "I love you too."

Before he dematerialised, I swore I saw a phantom of a smile on his face before he left, but maybe I was just imagining it… or maybe I was just in _deep _trouble.

**A/N: Please, leave a review. :) Thanks for the reviews, I can't reply now, I'll probably put some up on LJ or something and link to it in the new chapter. :)**


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